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Nicola Hill is Smiling her Way Through Six Marathons

13 September 2017 | Smile Train

Nicola Hill, of Norwich, will fly to the United States next month to compete in the 40th running of the Chicago Marathon, taking place on 8 October. The Chicago Marathon will be Nicola’s third step towards her life-long ambition to run in the world’s six World Marathon Majors — she has already competed in the New York and London Marathons.

When Nicola ran in the New York Marathon two years ago, she discovered that running for cancer research added to her race experience. “I’ve always loved running, and it's even more fulfilling when you're raising money at the same time,” she said. So while looking for an organisation to support this year, her thoughts turned to a frightening time in her life when she was told that a cleft lip was a possible concern for one of her twins, during a prenatal screening. “This experience heightened my awareness of clefts and it encouraged me to run to help — besides, I'm known for being a really positive person, always with a big smile on my face, and so it just felt right to raise money for a charity called Smile Train,” said Nicola.

So far, Nicola has raised £787 of her £2,000 fundraising target — if she achieves this goal, it will be enough to fund 13 cleft repair surgeries and additional comprehensive cleft care for children around the world. In addition to the funds she is raising, Nicola is planning an assembly at her Norwich school in September to make her pupils aware of Smile Train’s work around the world.